This is a very special photo to me. I'm posting it now because I just entered it in the Tulip Time Photography Contest. (I posted all of my entries on Facebook). This was the most important one. The Airman is presenting Daddy's flag to Mother at the cemetery with the utmost honor, dignity, and respect. My Dad was a WWII veteran, who served and loved his country and very much deserved the respect this man was giving him (as do other veterans). The presentation also showed such dignified compassion to my Mother. The 1st place ribbon I got goes to honor my Dad!!

Jordan and Sabrina ready for the Prom

Sabrina is headed to her first prom. She is a frestman, but was invited by Jordan, who has been a very good "friend" (yes he is a boyfriend) since last fall. He asked her to the prom in Jan. This boy plans ahead! This is Lauren also. Had to get a pic of the sisters. At one time there were 5 cameras going off at Tami's house, both sets of parents, both younger sisters, and one grandma! We got a few good pics!

Daddy had quite a hat collection. This is one wall in the basement, but only part of his hats. Mother let all of us choose some hats to take home. Here is Mother with part of the great-grandkids and their new hats. Mother's hat is a "SOKI Tours". Daddy and Mother went on many "Spending Our Kids' Inheritance" tours with Daddy's high school classmates and had a lot of fun doing it!!! Daddy graduated in 1940 and was the first of his class of 5 to pass away. They had a lot of class reunions through the years.

Keegan and Gavin weren't co-operating with the photo shoot, so I just shot them having fun. Kyle is at an Instructor School right now, so Stephanie is staying at their "unsold" house in Arkansas with the boys (instead of staying in New Jersey while Kyle is gone) and came to see us for a long Easter weekend. It was great to have them here. They live too far away!! Stephanie enrolled Keegan in their church's pre-school with his friends from last year and has him playing T-Ball also.

Tami's family on Easter Sunday.

I quit posting last night because I couldn't get photos to upload.

We'll see if I can get anymore tonight.

Randy and I (and our children and grandchildren) joined Mother for Easter at Abbyville Community Church. He changed from his suit quickly before I said I wanted a picture, ready to start working on Mother's computer. He looks pretty spiffy in a suit. You'll just have to imagine. We then had dinner at Mother's with my sisters and some of their families also. We helped clean out her garage in the afternoon, for which she was very appreciative. She also gave to each of the seven grandchildren (four were there and three will get theirs later) a commemorative belt buckle that belonged to my Dad. Each buckle dealt with flying, farming, or Abbyville, each being a very important part of Daddy's life. They were all delighted to receive the buckles. They chose sight unseen, and Amy (Jan's daughter) got the farming buckle. She and her husband are the only farming grandchildren. Kind of neat. Stephanie kind of wanted the buckle with the P-47, since her husband is a pilot, but she got one depicting the Abbyville Rodeo, which brings her lots of fond memories. Tami's is a horse at the rodeo. She really wants a live horse, but the buckle will have to suffice for now! At Christmas there was a present under the tree for each of the grandchildren "from Gramps." Mother had wrapped a small model "P-47" (the fighter plane my Dad flew in WWII) for each of them from Daddy's collection. A very special moment!! It is good to remember my Dad in so many ways and to think about how he will always be a part of us. He was such an important part of all our lives and a wonderful influence to all. We are thankful to have so many years of great memories and glad that so many of his great-grandchildren knew him well and also treasure the memories!!

Our fun in TX is over for this year. We arrived home April 3, missing the snow and ice, but have had too much cold weather since we have been back in KS. It is still good to be home, even if it is a little cold. Our good neighbor Jeff very kindly pushed the downed limbs (from the ice) into a pile with his tractor, so we didn't have that big job to do when we got home. He also kept us informed about our electricity being off for 3 days. Fortunately, the power came back on before he needed to start our generator. Our freezer still had frost on the walls, so it didn't warm up much inside there.

I rode my bike 230 miles in March, missing only 2 days of riding. I have really enjoyed having such a great place to ride. It won't be as much fun when I get home (soon!!). At home our roads are rocky, sandy, muddy, etc., but I do love living in the country! I will probably have a little more work to do at home and not as much time for riding, but I will ride some. I have ridden 500 miles while we have been in TX. We have had lots of fun here, but I am ready to go home!!! So sorry to have missed the blizzard! I have seen some pictures and probably more of you have some to share. We will be home soon!

I think I was suppose to post some fish pictures. Randy did catch plenty of fish. These are sheepshead, the limit is five, and Randy goes all the way to the end of the jetty to catch these. The long walk is good exercise for him.

Views from inside the chapel where I've been attending services.

This was the beach on Wed., a beautiful day-80 degrees. Today and yesterday were in the 50's, so there wasn't too much beach activity (although I did see some kids in the water today;brrr!!!). It was cloudy, windy, and chilly. I looked for seashells this afternoon, thinking no one else would be foolish enough to be out there. There were not many of us, and I did find a few things. I also managed to stay dry, which was good. The best place for shells today was right beside the jetty, as the waves came in and out. The waves would bring in shells, then go out, and I would spot a special shell, grab it fast, and run quickly before the waves returned! That is more fun to do when it is warm and I wade in the water. We also had some rain yesterday and today, so I only rode bike 5.2 miles today and none yesterday (we went to Brownsville part of the day, so in my limited time, I decided walking was better than riding in the wind). But, on Wed, the beautiful day with mild wind, I rode 20 miles, through and north of SPI. I guess I got inspired (or challenged)when my sister said she rode 18 the other day. Somehow I think she did it faster; it took me 2 hours.

I had the opportunity to sit in a 1914 Model T the other day. I stopped to take a photo of this Model T in our RV Park. The owner enjoyed talking about his car and answering my questions. Then he offered to take my pic. Couldn't refuse that. He transports this car in an enclosed trailer behind his motor home, then drives it around when he stays different places. After restoring the car, he also added a Garmin GPS! (He also owns about 10 more Model T cars.) When I sat down, I noticed these cute little levers on the steering column, just like the ones on the cars at my Grandmother's place where my cousins and I use to play. Such fond memories!! Mother said at least one of those cars was a Model T that Daddy used to drive

I ride my bike nearly every day (I missed 3 days in Feb. because of rain one day and I guess the other two days were because of laziness, time, or wind), so I set a goal of riding 150 miles for the month. Randy said I should have set it higher (he who rides occasionally and not too far, but at least he rides). With 3 days to go, I had 142 miles in. No problem, right? But the wind has been horrific these past 3 days. Yesterday I got off and walked a little because I was concerned the crosswind was going to blow the bike and me over. Because I set a goal (aren't goals great!), I had to do it today. I rode 3.7 Thurs, 3.0 Fri, then another 3 miles today, with much difficulty, for a total of 151.7 miles for the month. As I started riding around the RV Park today, I saw a big ship and several dolphins "frolicking" (Randy says they are going after fish), so I got a bonus for reaching my goal. I took lots of pics of the dolphins, but none good enough to post. I started the day in shorts (normal for here), but the wind switched to the north and got pretty chilly (still in the 60's), so I put on sweats before I rode this afternoon. I guess I should set a higher goal for March, but I'm not sure yet. Depends on when we are going home. I know I won't ride as much at home.

I went to the beach this afternoon, knowing I was probably too late to find many good seashells (I was right), but it was such a beautiful day that I just had to take a walk on the beach (and wade in the water). It was about 75 degrees and windy. I just want to show my grandchildren that I am really enjoying the beach! I wish Sabrina, Braden, Lauren, Logan, Keegan, and Gavin (and your parents) could be here to enjoy it with us. Didn't we have fun last year at Port Aransas!! We tried to talk my Mother into coming down, and she considered it, but decided it was just too far to travel.

When we heard a ship's horn this afternoon, I glanced out the door and could see a ship in the distance. I quickly climbed up on top of the Fifth Wheel to get a better look (even though I don't like heights), and this is what I saw. You can see there are several rows of RVs between us and the water, so we are just lucky when we see one from our RV. They don't always blow their horns. A couple of years we had a site where we could look out our back window and see the water on the other side of the fence and road, so we saw lots of ships those years. We haven't been lucky enough to get one of those better sites for awhile.

Stephanie says she reads my blog to Keegan and Gavin, but they are disappointed to not see any pictures of their "Gigi." Today I was tying a "CARS" quilt, which some young boy should be happy to receive. We make charity quilts Tues and Thurs mornings at "Chapel by the Sea." The Chaplain told us that 2 weeks ago nearly 900 people (total) attended the 3 worship services. In March, they cut back to 2 services because Winter Texans start going home.

We also watched this shrimp boat head out for shrimping, but the
Border Patrol and Customs boat had the shrimp boat turn around and head back to port. It wasn't too long before the shrimp boat headed out again. Apparently, there wasn't too big a problem, or at least the problem was taken care of quickly.

While I was sitting with fisherman Randy, we had quite a dolphin show. By the time you see dolphins surface and click the camera, they are usually back under the water. This was the best I could get that day, although we saw several dolphins chasing around for awhile. This boat (on wheels) is a land/sea "Aqua Dog", just out for a dolphin watch.

Fishing

It was brought to my attention (by Doyle and Flo) that there are no fish pictures on this blog. I guess that is because when Randy caught his largest fish (26" Red), I wasn't home with the camera, so it got cleaned and cut up before I got home. Thus, we have no proof. The next good one was a 23" Red, but it had a chunk out of it's tail and not too pretty. I guess he better get busy and get more more. Mangrove Snappers are pretty fish, so I'll take a pic of the next one of those he brings home. Here we have Randy fishing and Randy extracting ghost shrimp from the beach (using a pump) to use for bait.

Sunset

Chapel By the Sea & my sand dollar

I found most of these seashells one day last week, more than the average day. I really don't need this many more shells (I have lots at home from past years), but sometimes I just can't resist. These little shells seem to say, "Pick me." They are so beautiful, some of God's wonderful masterpieces. I am just in awe of the colors, shapes, etc. of God's designs. Each of these shells has been a home to a living creature. Today I found my first sand dollar; they seem to be a rarity this year. It is just over an inch in diameter, but it's hard to find one without any chips or breaks. A few years ago I took home several sand dollars and let the grandchildren choose one, after I told them the largest one was for Grandma. (How could I pick which child could have it? I had to keep it!). Lauren kept picking the largest one, but didn't fuss about it. She just knew that was her favorite. It was the prettiest!! This morning I went to the beach before 7 a.m., knowing I would have time to get back to get ready for 9:30 church. But when I kept finding so many shells, I decided I could go to the 11 a.m. service instead. There is also an 8 a.m. service. During the summer the congregation is about 70 members, but in January and February, the "Chapel By the Sea" expands to 3 services with about 200 people (or more) attending each service (not quite that many at 8 a.m.) The Chapel By the Sea is located at the north edge of the RV Park, about a 10 minute walk from our RV. It's a good experience to have to go to church early to be sure to get a place to sit!! This morning there were also 60 people in the overflow room to watch on closed circuit. The church has sliding glass doors on 2 walls, so it's a quick exit after the service when those doors are opened. It's almost like being outdoors with all the glass.

Enough rambling for tonight!!

We have had some beautiful sunsets here. After I took this picture last night, I turned around and took a picture of the moon, both beautiful!! I was almost finished riding my bike 8.8 miles around and around the RV park, when I stopped for the photo op. It was about 70 degrees (I know it has been warm in KS also!), and I just love riding with a cool breeze!! It was so invigorating, then when I got home, a neighbor asked me to go for a walk. We walked 2 miles around the park. The night sea air feels so good! Lauren (age 8) asked me a couple of months ago why we like to go so many places. Lauren, these are some of the reasons. I love being close to nature and enjoying it to the fullest. (There is also less work in an RV; housecleaning goes pretty fast, but I do miss my dishwasher!)

Yesterday was also laundry day (Randy's favorite day). I'm just too tired after laundry to cook (ha), so we went to Blackbeard's, where I had some charbroiled mahi-mahi (again). It is sooooo good!!! Last time Randy had a seafood platter, but yesterday he had a wonderful hamburger (just a little better than McDonald's). Then we had enough left for supper.

Since we have been here at S Padre Island, I usually attend Yoga Monday and Wednesday mornings, then line dancing Tues and Thurs mornings. I heard about quilting on Tues and Thurs and finally checked it out on Tues. I didn't bring a project, but thought I would go see what others are doing. The quilters are doing charity quilts for local residents (mainly at Port Isabel and extended area) and can always use 2 more hands. I went back today. Line dancing and quilting both start at 9 (in different places), so I did my hour of dancing, then went to quilting. Last week I wore my new pedometer (Thanks, Marty) to line dancing and logged over 5,000 steps in that hour. Good exercise! After lunch I went to a photography class (first session today). They just have everything here (except my grandkids and other family members; I miss them!)

Randy's activities consist of fishing, fishing, and fishing, a little bike riding, reading, and watching TV. There's also his favorite--Laundry Day!! This RV Park doesn't have a laundromat, so we go over to Port Isabel for that.

We are staying at Isla Blanca RV Park at the south end of S Padre Island. It's a great place to ride my bike. Riding around the 1.5 mile route (a sidewalk around the park) is good, especially in the wind. It may be a struggle for a ways, but I know I will soon be turning directions. The city of SPI has walking/biking lanes, so it's easy to ride through town. Lots of people are out riding and walking. Today I rode 11.4 miles, including riding 2.7 miles to the local IGA for a gallon of milk. Strong wind going; easy ride home! Waves were rough today.

Beginning a blog

I already posted to my blog, to experiment, so this isn't exactly the beginning. I often times take photos of things I would like to share with others, but then I wonder just who would be interested. I don't want to leave out someone who might be interested or clog up someone's e-mail who isn't interested. This way, you can choose if you want to look or not. This is new to me, and technology is not my expertise, but I thought surely I can manage it. If I have any trouble I can always call Sam (Keegan's 4-year old friend); he's getting to be quite the expert! Actually I set it up by myself, but Stephanie added the background for me (and told me how to add pics). I wanted seashells, but all we could find was the palm tree. I like those also. Anyway, I have a few photos I will be sharing.

I see my photos are in reverse order (end to beginning), so I'll try to remember that if I post sequential photos again.

Causeway Walk

Our destination!

A foggy skyline

Over 3,000 walkers and runners participated

Looking back at Port Isabel

Starting the Walk

Randy and I arrived at South Padre Island in time for me to participate in the 25th annual Port Isabel Causeway 5K Walk on Jan. 10. There was also a 10K race, but walking was good enough for me. We started in Port Isabel, walking to SPI, then I walked another mile to our RV. (Randy had taken me over to Port Isabel.) It was my first time and a really lovely day (short sleeve weather) to walk across the 2.5 mile long bridge. The only problem was that the wind wasn't blowing enough to get rid of the fog/haze, so I didn't get the pretty skyline pics that I hoped for. You know how you always see someone from home. While we were waiting for the walk to begin, I met a lady who grew up at Oxford and now lives at Salina. We walked and took photographs together.

Winter Texans